Two weeks before the start of classes at his all-boys charter school near Pittsburgh, founder Darryl Canady received an email from his local public school district saying it wouldn't provide traditional bus rides to his students this year. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.

Instead, Woodland Hills School District said it would supply each of the more than 140 students at LIFE Male STEAM Academy with Pittsburgh Regional Transit cards to get to and from class. The email read: "Please note that this will be the only option offered by the school district this school year."

The notice took Canady by surprise. Nobody at the district had contacted him to talk about shifting his students to public transit, and the email provided no explanation for the decision. Canady told Spotlight PA, referring to his students' parents: "Everybody's concerned. People don't want to put their sons, especially 10 and 11 year olds, on a bus. And you may have to change multiple buses."

School districts in Pennsylvania are required by law to provide "free transportation" to most charter school students who live within their boundaries — a service public school districts and their advocates say is a growing burden due to rising costs and a shortage of bus drivers.

Woodland Hills' decision is one of several instances in recent years where a Pennsylvania school district has at least tried to shift its primary means of transporting charter school students onto public transit, rather than traditional yellow school buses. In January, the state Supreme Court ruled that districts are indeed allowed to end bus service for charter students, so long as they provide alternative free transportation — like the bus passes Canady's students are set to receive.

While the ruling offered clarity, the issue isn't settled. Republican lawmakers in Harrisburg are backing measures that would effectively undo pieces of the ruling, and charter school advocates say if that doesn't pan out, they may go back to court.

Students using public transit is nothing new in Pennsylvania. Multiple districts, especially those in urban areas, like the School District of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Public Schools, and Allentown School District, already partner with local transit authorities to help get their traditional students to and from campus. Also, both the federal departments of education and transportation list public transit as a "safe, accessible, reliable" method for transporting students.

But charter school advocates say the lack of infrastructure in some rural and suburban regions can limit the safety of students reaching and riding public transit, and lengthen commute times. They also argue that school districts can leverage the ruling to pressure parents to keep children in traditional classrooms rather than switch to charters.

Districts that transport students are eligible for state subsidies to offset costs and must follow strict state regulations that allow the use of "school conveyances, private conveyances, or electric railways, or other common carriers."

Pennsylvania reimburses roughly half of a district's transportation costs on average through a subsidy program, according to the state Department of Education. The amount each receives is calculated based on factors like the number of pupils transported, the taxable property values within the district, and contract expenses. Not all transportation methods are equally expensive, however. The January court ruling noted that using public transit was expected to be much cheaper for the school in question — the state would have fully reimbursed public bus passes, but not school buses.

Woodland Hills isn't the only district flexing its new court-approved ability to cut charter students off from its buses. The Whitehall-Coplay School District administration also no longer provides bus service for charter students.